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Medical errors to be recorded/medical-errors-be-recorded

Medical errors to be recorded

JEDDAH: Arab News|Published — Wednesday 20 February 2013

The Ministry of Health is planning to establish a register for instances of medical errors, management of relations and patient rights.
This comes as part of the ministry’s efforts to improve operational efficiency in the hospitals by establishing operational standards, programs for family management and one-day medical care.
“We want to uphold patient rights and resolve their complaints through the establishment of an administration for patient relations and rights in the ministry and in every province,” said Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, minister of health, while addressing the first conference of the Saudi Society for Health Management. “We intend to establish a register to record instances of medical malpractice, as well as improve the operational capability at hospitals,” he added.
He said that the ministry is working to improve the image of government hospitals after being repeatedly criticized over its handling of the incident of Riham, the Jazan child who was mistakenly given a transfusion of HIV-contaminated blood.
Rabeeah said that the patient is the first priority of the Saudi health care strategy as part of the basic principle that governs the national project for comprehensive and complete health care.
Meanwhile, Prof. Khalid bin Said, chairman of the Saudi society for health management, said that the conference highlights the issues of health management through various lectures. Dr. Othman Rabiah, vice-chairman of the society and member of the organizing committee, said that the three-day conference seeks to achieve a number of objectives, including the promotion of the concept of health management in the health system, highlighting its role in the development of health services, and getting acquainted with local and international expertise in the application of modern administrative methods.